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Jeff Abbott

@palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social
2.4K followers 687 following 960 posts

Journalist on the U.S.-Mexico border covering immigration and things I Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism Fellow '23 and winner of the Texas '25 Michael Bricks Storytelling Award. linktr.ee/palabrasdeabajo

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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 17h
Whoa. @haleaziz.bsky.social has the scoop on a truly insane plan to use some military training ships for deportations, with people presumably shackled or locked in cells for days at a time as they transit to Central and South America. Each journey would be staggeringly expensive — and dangerous.
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Considers Using Ships to Deport Immigrants (Gift Article)
Journeys to destinations including El Salvador and Venezuela could take days and cost millions. Officials cautioned that discussions are still preliminary.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A new era of my The Other Americans column at The Progressive magazine is going to begin! It’s going to start off as a monthly thing, but I’m happy to be able to write about Latin America again. What a time to start… And I need to change that photo.
progressive.org
Jeff Abbott
Jeff Abbott is an independent journalist currently based out of Guatemala. “The Other Americans” is a column created by Abbott for The Progressive on human migration in North and Central America.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
NPR @npr.org · 08/10/2026
Throughout the summer, rumors have been bubbling in North New Jersey that ICE has quietly been using a warehouse as a detention center. NPR investigated. n.pr/4hzvA5M
n.pr
ICE has quietly used this warehouse as a detention facility all summer, neighbors say
Throughout the summer, rumors have been bubbling in North New Jersey that ICE has quietly been using a warehouse as a detention center. NPR investigated.
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Tom Cartwright @tomcartwright.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
👀✈️ NEW! September 2026. Monthly ICE Air report including the tracking, analysis, and reporting of 66,000+ ICE flights since January 2020. In September: 324 deportations plus 1,258 domestic flights shuffling people to and between detention and staging centers.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Guatemalans sent home $2.24 billion in September 2026, continuing what will be a record breaking year. If things continue the same course, Guatemalans will likely send home around $20 billion more than they did a decade ago in all of 2016.
Remittance data from Guatemala from 2016 to 2026, showing that the amount of money sent home has steadily increased over the last decade.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
ICE officers are now asking immigrants they arrest if they have ever voted illegally and whether they did so by mail or in person as part of a pre-election push to root out alleged voter fraud - which remains rare www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
washingtonpost.com
In run-up to election, ICE is asking detainees if they voted illegally
People who admit to voting illegally are then asked if it was by mail or in person.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Returning to freelancing is really daunting. I'm finding myself doubting everything I've done and everything I know. Some things are starting to come together, I think and I hope. But I need recover my confidence and my voice.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The three warehouses in Socorro, Texas that ICE purchased for a detention center are now for sale. I reported a few months ago that they were going to be sold, and now there they are. The warehouses were originally meant for the distribution of pecans. disposal.gsa.gov/s/property/a...
disposal.gsa.gov
Real Property Disposition
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The elections in Brazil are going to be going into a run-off. The next round will be on October 25. This will determine if Brazil follows the right-wing swing in Latin America or continues with Lula.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I am sadden to say, but as of today I’ve parted with the El Paso Times. I’m going back into freelancing for them moment as I prepare my next steps (stay tuned). If anyone out there wants reporting from the El Paso border, let me know! I’ll give more details in the weeks to come about what happened
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I am sadden to say, but as of today I’ve parted with the El Paso Times. I’m going back into freelancing for them moment as I prepare my next steps (stay tuned). If anyone out there wants reporting from the El Paso border, let me know! I’ll give more details in the weeks to come about what happened
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The mortality reviews that ICE published late last week show that medical neglect is widespread in Trump's concentration camps — something immigrants, advocates and attorneys have said for years, and which ICE routinely denies. New from me in @prospect.org.
prospect.org
Disturbing Pictures of Neglect in ICE Mortality Reviews - The American Prospect
The federal government released dozens of mortality reviews of immigrants who died in detention in recent years. They show a uniform pattern of medical neglect.
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John Washington @jwashing.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This SCOTUS ruling -- as a group deported to Equatorial Guinea remain incommunicado, imprisoned, and under serious threat. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US supreme court allows Trump officials to resume deportations to third countries
Conservative majority temporarily lifts lower-court decision as liberal justices dissent from ruling
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hopefully my request in California City, California gets processed quickly!
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
The Associated Press @apnews.com · 29/09/2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court lets the Trump administration continue deporting people to third countries for now while justices weigh policy.
bit.ly
Supreme Court lets quick deportations to third countries resume while justices weigh Trump policy
The Supreme Court will allow President Donald Trump’s administration to continue deporting people to countries other than their own for now, while the justices consider whether the policy is legal.
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Martha Pskowski @psskow.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Update on the power plant El Paso Electric plans to build for Meta: public utilities administrative judges say EPE took its cues from Meta and did not consider other options. However, they're recommending the commission approve the application with conditions. insideclimatenews.org/news/2409202...
insideclimatenews.org
Texas Electric Utility Only Considered Gas to Power $10 Billion Meta Data Center - Inside Climate News
Administrative judges recommend approval of the gas power plant if the utility assures ratepayers won't pay the cost.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
ANOTHER death in ICE detention which appears likely to be the result of medical neglect. A diabetic who told his family members he wasn't receiving regular insulin shots OR getting diabetic-appropriate meals just died in custody. The U.S. prison-ICE detention-industrial complex kills.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I am heartbroken to read that yet another person has died in Trump's concentration camps. Carlos Josue Marchena-Marchena was 36. He died on Sept. 18. The press release provides no details. It serves only to condemn the victim and absolve the government.
ice.gov
Criminal illegal alien in ICE custody passes away at Winnfield Correctional Center in Louisiana
Carlos Josue Marchena-Marchena, a 36-year-old criminal illegal alien from Costa Rica, passed away in ICE custody Sept 18, 2026.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For the first time since 1977, Guatemala has received military aid. The new purchase included M4A1 rifles, which I had only previously occasionally seen in the military parades. Aid was shut down by the Carter administration over human rights abuses during Guatemala's internal armed conflict.
yahoo.com
US sends military equipment to Guatemala for first time since 1977
The United States on Monday delivered military equipment to Guatemala for the first time in nearly 50 years, ending an arms embargo imposed over human rights abuses. President Bernardo Arévalo said Gu...
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Great story from @theguardian.com that gets into something that I was not able to fully dive into during my coverage of the unrest at Camp East Montana: U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, was blocked from speaking with detainees during her visit on Sept. 10.
theguardian.com
Democrat says ICE restricted her oversight visit to country’s largest detention camp
Veronica Escobar tells Guardian she was prevented from speaking to detainees at much-criticized Texas facility
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Trump administration is now going to essentially be disappearing immigrants detained by ICE. This is going to cause so much pain for their loved ones on both sides of the border.
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Over the weekend, Guatemala's Immigration Institute, IGM, released the data on third country nationals expelled to the Central American country by the Trump administration. As of Sept. 18, there have been: 3,240 Mexicans 88 Hondurans 63 Salvadorans and 47 Nicaraguans 3,438 in total
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Over the weekend, Guatemala's Immigration Institute, IGM, released the data on third country nationals expelled to the Central American country by the Trump administration. As of Sept. 18, there have been: 3,240 Mexicans 88 Hondurans 63 Salvadorans and 47 Nicaraguans 3,438 in total
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Joaquin Castro @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Breaking: ICE shot and injured a man in Austin, Texas, earlier today. Trump has allowed ICE to flood our streets and put our communities in harms way again and again and Governor Abbott is complicit every time. I am demanding the body camera footage and full accountability.
statesman.com
ICE agent shoots and wounds person in North Austin, officials say
An ICE agent shot and wounded a person Sunday in North Austin, according to three state and local officials.
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Yael Schacher @yaelschacher.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You can’t just deport people to third countries because you paid off that country’s government for an assurance no rights violations will occur. That’s just not what US law says and not how the Refugee and Torture conventions work. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
Main Document – #00108510897 in D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (1st Cir., 26-1212) – CourtListener.com
OPINION issued by Lara E. Montecalvo, Appellate Judge; Jeffrey R. Howard, Appellate Judge; and Seth Robert Aframe, Appellate Judge. Published. [26-1212] (AVN) [Entered: 09/18/2026 03:22 PM]
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A deportation officer at Camp East Montana called El Paso 911 for assistance during the protests in the ICE camp on Sept. 7. They blamed the Venezuelans in the call, according to the audio I obtained. The caller doubted El Paso police would back them up in an off comment before hanging up.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A deportation officer at Camp East Montana called El Paso 911 for assistance during the protests in the ICE camp on Sept. 7. They blamed the Venezuelans in the call, according to the audio I obtained. The caller doubted El Paso police would back them up in an off comment before hanging up.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The audio from a 911 emergency call from Camp East Montana during protests on Sept. 7 show that ICE deportation officers requested El Paso police assistance. My story:
elpasotimes.com
ICE officer called El Paso 911 dispatch during unrest, audio reveals
ICE officers requested assistance from El Paso police during unrest in Camp East Montana, call logs reveal. Over 300 detainees were protesting conditions.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
New from me in @prospect.org: A GOP candidate who says he "is guided by his Christian faith and an unwavering commitment to his neighbors" is sending out texts that look like a way to get the $5k Trump promised. But the link takes you to a donation website to help him retire his debt.
prospect.org
Republican Nominee in Texas Using Trump’s $5,000 Promise to Deceive Voters - The American Prospect
Eric Flores is an Army veteran and lawyer running to unseat Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in Texas District 34.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I got the audio from an ICE deportation officer’s call to El Paso 911 dispatch and all the logs related to the protests/unrest at Camp East Montana on Sept. 7. Story will be out today, hopefully. ICE told U.S. Rep Veronica Escobar they were unaware of any requests for assistance.
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Reposted by Jeff Abbott
Will Craft @wcraft.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
BREAKING: Records obtained through a FOIA lawsuit shows that despite record number of pregnant women are in detention, ICE has lost count of the number of miscarriages. A Deleted Data/Immigration/Guardian investigations collab
theguardian.com
Revealed: ICE lost count of miscarriages, while detaining a record number of pregnant women
ICE says it has no updated information on the number of miscarriages after 3 October 2025. Lawmakers, advocates and immigration attorneys have raised alarms that pregnant detainees are not receiving b...
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It’s really odd going back to the the unpublished manuscript I wrote a decade ago. It catches such a unique moment before emigration from Guatemala exploded. I can see more of the root causes in retrospect.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I spoke with one Venezuelan immigrants who was held in Camp East Montana and was held in separation. He said that the cages there are a little bigger, maybe 3 meters by 2 meters. He did say these were in the detention center in Mesa, Arizona.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: DHS's Inspector General releases a scathing report about the Everglades detention camp known as "Alligator Alcatraz." The OIG finds that the now-closed camp, violated multiple ICE standards. The OIG also confirms detainees were punished with placement in a metal cage in the Florida heat.🧵
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Staff also reported that time spent in the small metal enclosures is closely monitored, and
detainees are not locked in, even though we observed locking mechanisms on the enclosures.
Figures 11 and 12. Small Metal Enclosures; Observed January 21, 2026

Underneath is a picture of a metal cage that is 4 feet 3 inches wide by 4 feet 3 inches long, and 7 feet 9 inches high. The cage itself is placed on a tiny spot of fake turf, and then surrounded by another chainlink fence with razor wire on top. The cage is covered by a roof, but it's entirely exposed to the outside otherwise, meaning mosquitos and no air conditioning.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar held a press conference today after her 11th oversight visit to Camp East Montana where she confirmed details of the protests and disturbances over Labor Day weekend. Over 300 detainees were involved and they broke down the walls of six pods.
elpasotimes.com
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar demands ICE findings on Camp East Montana riot
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar called on DHS and ICE to share the results of internal investigations into the unrest in Camp East Montana over Labor Day.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar held a press conference today after her 11th oversight visit to Camp East Montana where she confirmed details of the protests and disturbances over Labor Day weekend. Over 300 detainees were involved and they broke down the walls of six pods.
elpasotimes.com
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar demands ICE findings on Camp East Montana riot
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar called on DHS and ICE to share the results of internal investigations into the unrest in Camp East Montana over Labor Day.
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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
How is ICE making record arrests? I found the answer in Pa. coal country, where cops lured by a promise of federal $$$ have embraced ICE's 287(g) and are throwing up checkpoints, raiding job sites, arresting 100s, and terrorizing their communities My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/penn...
inquirer.com
In Pa. coal country, local police join with ICE to bring arrests, fear | Will Bunch
Pa.'s Schuylkill County is the new face of Trump's mass deportation, as local cops lured by federal cash bust scores of migrants.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The protests in Camp East Montana over conditions and long-term detention are not the first, there have been many since the site opened last year. The first one I was able to confirm was in December 2025. But so many of these protests are not known about due to the secrecy that surrounds the camp.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
There were protests over the weekend in Camp East Montana in El Paso, which saw detainees break down the walls of pods. The protests were led by Venezuelans, who were demanding their deportations after months of being held in ICE detention. My story:
elpasotimes.com
Immigrants held at Camp East Montana protest over Labor Day weekend
Immigrants held at the Camp East Montana in El Paso protested over Labor Day weekend. They called to be deported from the ERO facility.
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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is yet another telling example of the Trump regime’s racism. There’s no pretense here of targeting criminals - the usual excuse for mass deportations. DHS is specifically encouraging Haitian “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave. Any decent society would value these people.
DHS encourages “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave with some sort of $3,000 payout, its naked racism.
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Adam Isacson @adamisacson.com · 09/09/2026
Provinces of Ecuador, all near the Colombia border, where we know that US military personnel have deployed to support land combat operations against criminal groups: - Sucumbíos, first noted March 2026 - Esmeraldas, first noted July 2026 - Orellana, first noted this week:
infobae.com
Estados Unidos llevó un Osprey a la Amazonía ecuatoriana para apoyar la ofensiva contra los Comandos de la Frontera
La aeronave estadounidense comenzó a apoyar a las Fuerzas Armadas en Alto Punino, una zona marcada por la minería ilegal y la presencia de una estructura disidente de las antiguas FARC
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Can I complain for a moment? The migrant who died in Camp East Montana in December 2025 was named FRANCISCO GASPAR CRISTÓBAL ANDRÉS. Please, gringos, stop repeating ICE's misnaming of him. PLEASE. Please name him correctly. (I saw another story today from El Paso that used his name wrong)
elpasotimes.com
Exclusive: She survived ICE custody; her husband died during detention
Guatemalan widow shared a hug, a tickle and these words with her husband: "Cheer up." It was the last time she saw him alive while they were in ICE custody.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Guatemalans sent home $2.327 billion in August 2026, another massive amount of money that out paces prior years. This money has meant communities have been able to maintain amidst rising costs, deportations, and uncertainty. Remittances mean life for so many communities.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I’ve just heard Camp East Montana is on lockdown. Rumors have swirled this long weekend of internal protests over conditions. I’m working to confirm.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The only "New America" that I recognize is Finca Nueva America, a tiny village +/- five hours from the municipal seat of Nebaj, Quiche, Guatemala. I wish I could write more about the conversations I had over contraband beer during my time there...
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ICE detention camps across Texas hold 25% of immigrants detained in the Trump administration's heavy-handed crackdown on immigration. Here is my story looking at the numbers, why so many are held here, and how ICE detention in El Paso has changed over the last decade.
elpasotimes.com
Why Texas is at the heart of Trump's mass detention strategy
Over a quarter of all immigrants detained by the Trump administration are held in Texas. Why is this?
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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
President Trump and his allies “test out their strategies here because they think people elsewhere aren’t watching,” says Katie Kersh, a Dayton-based immigration lawyer with Haitian clients. “They will bring them to your state eventually. People really need to care about this more.”
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I spoke to @cnn.com about an important linguistic question; when the U.S. government dumps someone in a country on a continent they've never been to before, does the word "deportation" still apply? Or is what's happening something different — a rendition? www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/u...
cnn.com
Is dumping a Cuban in Africa ‘deportation’? | CNN
As the Trump administration sends migrants to faraway, unfamiliar countries where they are again detained, some immigration advocates argue that the word “deportation” is no longer sufficient.
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ICE detention camps across Texas hold 25% of immigrants detained in the Trump administration's heavy-handed crackdown on immigration. Here is my story looking at the numbers, why so many are held here, and how ICE detention in El Paso has changed over the last decade.
elpasotimes.com
Why Texas is at the heart of Trump's mass detention strategy
Over a quarter of all immigrants detained by the Trump administration are held in Texas. Why is this?
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Jeff Abbott @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Texas is holding a quarter of all immigrants detained by the Trump administration. The state has been at the center of the Trump administration's detention and deportation policies. Here is my story looking at this scary reality.
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